CAlifornia BAR/SMOG/engine swap thread.

[wworm]

I'd do it if you're seriously considering it. With enough research, it shouldn't be too hard if you have the donor car. Resale on the swapped car bumps way up if its been BARed too.

[Sean S.]

Ok, so here we go! I have a 99 M3 donor car being delivered sometime within the next week or so. I'm going to keep everything stock and basically just move everything over. Just a couple questions so far:

* Who have you guys used for any engine harness mods and DME flashing? Anyone do that here in Nor Cal?

* I take that adapting the harness allows the existing check engine light to be utilized?

* Does the OBD 2 port have to be mounted at the driver's kick panel, or just anywhere accessable?

I just want the BAR experience to be as painless as possible. I'll be going to Las Positas here in Livermore which I have heard is not too bad, but I don't want to give them any reason not to pass me.

Thanks,
Sean

[Sean S.]

Drivetrain is out of the E30. I'm moving into parts accumulation phase. What CARB legal intakes are out there?

[MrGreen]

This is the one I used:

http://www.rogueengineering.com/ECIS-Cold-Air-Intake_p_29.html

[PacificExposure]

Hey BAR gurus, I need your help. Over the last few months I’ve swapped in a fresh OBD1 S50 into my E30 with the intention of passing the BAR. I had my first referee appt last week and the good news is that it passes visual and functional check as well as the 25mph, but failed the 15mph smog test for both HC and NO. Weird thing is that the tech forgot to turn on my pusher fan (no clutch fan or temp relay) so the car overheated during the 25mph test. Could the overheating have helped me pass the 25mph where it failed the 15mph when relatively cool? What other issues could have caused the failure? It did feel like there was a low RPM shudder that makes me feel like it could be slightly misfiring. Here are the details of the setup:

Low mileage S50 block, completely rebuilt
head with stock springs and valves.
Removed TRM chip and replaced with stock s50 chip
M50 intake
Stock MAF
Open element air filter
Rebuilt and flowmatched Pink top injectors
Stock cast headers
Custom exhaust by Castro with aftermarket dual CATs, resonator, and magnaflow muffler
New Bosch downstream O2 sensor



Since the test, I replaced the S50 MAF and elbow with a new K&N filter, 540i 3.5” MAF and the Bimmerworld silicone elbow (which I had on-hand), and it smoothed out the idle and low rpm shudder, but now I’m worried that it wouldn’t pass visual. The Ref was super nice and told me it was one of the cleanest swaps he’d seen and one if the first to pass visual and tech on the first try. I think I could explain that the stock elbow had a slight vacuum leak and the silicone elbow was a sure way to fix it.

I have a retest scheduled for this Friday, really hoping to pass!! Any help would much appreciated!








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[PacificExposure]

Hey BAR gurus, I need your help. Over the last few months I’ve swapped in a fresh OBD1 S50 into my E30 with the intention of passing the BAR. I had my first referee appt last week and the good news is that it passes visual and functional check as well as the 25mph, but failed the 15mph smog test for both HC and NO. Weird thing is that the tech forgot to turn on my pusher fan (no clutch fan or temp relay) so the car overheated during the 25mph test. Could the overheating have helped me pass the 25mph where it failed the 15mph when relatively cool? What other issues could have caused the failure? It did feel like there was a low RPM shudder that makes me feel like it could be slightly misfiring. Here are the details of the setup:



Low mileage S50 block, completely rebuilt

head with stock springs and valves.

Removed TRM chip and replaced with stock s50 chip

M50 intake

Stock MAF

Open element air filter

Rebuilt and flowmatched Pink top injectors

Stock cast headers

Custom exhaust by Castro with aftermarket dual CATs, resonator, and magnaflow muffler

New Bosch downstream O2 sensor







Since the test, I replaced the S50 MAF and elbow with a new K&N filter, 540i 3.5” MAF and the Bimmerworld silicone elbow (which I had on-hand), and it smoothed out the idle and low rpm shudder, but now I’m worried that it wouldn’t pass visual. The Ref was super nice and told me it was one of the cleanest swaps he’d seen and one if the first to pass visual and tech on the first try. I think I could explain that the stock elbow had a slight vacuum leak and the silicone elbow was a sure way to fix it.



I have a retest scheduled for this Friday, really hoping to pass!! Any help would much appreciated!

















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Anyone? Only have a couple days to get the issue sorted before my retest.


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[TheRob]

If you did have an air leak in the elbow that could be the reason you were having trouble passing, improper A/F ratio will limit how well the converter works. As far as the silicone elbow, that really depends on the Ref, technically it's not allowed because it's after the MAF but its just a silicone elbow so hopefully the guy is cool about it. I have my test scheduled with the Ref on December 6th, hoping it goes well!

[TheRob]

So my experience was ok, aside from the fact he couldn't run the test. I have all the visual stuff in order but the BAR is now asking for the engine certification from the car the engine came from. SO I need to find a way to provide proof that the engine in my e30 came from a California EPA certified car, not a federal. Apparently this was only necessary as of May 2018. Any ideas? There's a VIN on the back of the head, does anyone know if BMW will be able to tell me about the engine certification from that? I could always go to a junkyard and pull the sticker from a 325 and try that.

Side note: The ref at Fullerton college is super chill

[jayuuey]

Anyone? Only have a couple days to get the issue sorted before my retest.


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Im pretty sure pink injectors with the stock s50 tune would run rich. Also, my ref said a manual fan switch would fail inspection immediately and any mods after the MAF(no silicone elbows).

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[PacificExposure]

Im pretty sure pink injectors with the stock s50 tune would run rich. Also, my ref said a manual fan switch would fail inspection immediately and any mods after the MAF(no silicone elbows).

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Thanks. Fortunately the ref didn’t fail me for the fan switch nor the silicone elbow on the second go-around, but I still failed the 15 mph test. I did have that thought about the pink tops though. The tech ran some lambda numbers and determined there was definitely a fuel injection issue at 1200 rpm that didn’t exist above 1500 and my cats were operating at 100% efficiency.

I hadn’t really noticed, but in fact the crankshaft position sensor had failed and was causing a low rpm misfire and shudder. Replaced with a new sensor and I’m hoping to pass on the next go around.

Do you think I’m better off running the TMS tune that was made for those injectors, intake, and the MAF? Or put the stock injectors (which I don’t have) and chip back in? Other problem is that it struggles to stay running w/o the tune because of the low stock idle and lightweight flywheel.


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[TheRob]

Your car is running a little on the rich side. Stoichiometric is 14.7:1 air/fuel ratio and your a hair on the rich side of things. If the chip you have is tuned properly, you could put the tuned chip back in and go get a smog shop to do a pretest to see if the numbers change which they likely will if everything is working properly. You'll have to pay for it but at least you'll know if the chip will fix the issue and if it doesn't you'll know you have to look elsewhere. But hopefully you won't have to. I posted both the 15 and 25 mph Lambda results, you can see at 25 your running just about perfect.

15 MPH Test
Lambda by Bob Terwiliger, on Flickr


25 MPH Test
lambda 2 by Bob Terwiliger, on Flickr

[jayuuey]

Thanks. Fortunately the ref didn’t fail me for the fan switch nor the silicone elbow on the second go-around, but I still failed the 15 mph test. I did have that thought about the pink tops though. The tech ran some lambda numbers and determined there was definitely a fuel injection issue at 1200 rpm that didn’t exist above 1500 and my cats were operating at 100% efficiency.

I hadn’t really noticed, but in fact the crankshaft position sensor had failed and was causing a low rpm misfire and shudder. Replaced with a new sensor and I’m hoping to pass on the next go around.

Do you think I’m better off running the TMS tune that was made for those injectors, intake, and the MAF? Or put the stock injectors (which I don’t have) and chip back in? Other problem is that it struggles to stay running w/o the tune because of the low stock idle and lightweight flywheel.


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When I researched tunes, I recall Turner having a reputation for running rich. I am running a shaved m20 flywheel which is considered light and it idles fine with the stock chip. I wouldn't bother trying to BAR with anything other than the stock injectors/dme/tune unless its a dyno tuned aftermarket chip that you know is running optimally. Make sure you take a nice 30-40 minute freeway drive before you visit the rollers.

Which spark plugs are you running? Since you mentioned an intermittent idle hiccup, I am guessing your are using the S52 twin prongs? if so, get a set of single prong NGK BKR6E. For some reason, my car only likes those.

BTW, are you getting offers close to $20k on your sale? Just curiuos.

[PacificExposure]

When I researched tunes, I recall Turner having a reputation for running rich. I am running a shaved m20 flywheel which is considered light and it idles fine with the stock chip. I wouldn't bother trying to BAR with anything other than the stock injectors/dme/tune unless its a dyno tuned aftermarket chip that you know is running optimally. Make sure you take a nice 30-40 minute freeway drive before you visit the rollers.

Which spark plugs are you running? Since you mentioned an intermittent idle hiccup, I am guessing your are using the S52 twin prongs? if so, get a set of single prong NGK BKR6E. For some reason, my car only likes those.

BTW, are you getting offers close to $20k on your sale? Just curiuos.

I'm running 4 prong platinum NGK 3199. I'll just put the stock injectors in and run the stock chip. Easy enough to do.

As far as the for sale process, I took a $1000 deposit of $18k agreed price from a guy out-of-state, that ended up having a family medical issue and backing out. I'm not in a rush to sell and have a backup or two that are in-state and want that BAR sticker. I'd rather have it stay in CA after all the trouble I've gone through to this point.

[raj]

I visited the referee at Skyline College today for my S50 swap. It took about 90 minutes. I unfortunately did not leave with a sticker (failed the 15mph test), but here are a few notes:

• There were two really nice guys handling my inspection, and I felt that they genuinely wanted me to pass. In fact, one of them stated so explicitly. I shot the shit with one while the other performed the actual inspection.
• I came very well prepared with a document indicating the VIN and various information about the vehicle.
• I drove on the freeway ~30m before arriving, but they did not let the car sit long. They did the emissions part first, which was nice. However, I didn’t realize that RPM is a factor in heating up the cats, and I was doing mostly low-rev freeway driving. This probably contributed to my 15mph failure.
• They did not perform an EVAP check. Apparently they do not have the right adapter for the gas cap.
• It was confirmed that you do not need to worry about anything pre-MAF on an OBD1 car. I have a Castro airbox and passed visual no problem. I did bring a printout of appendix G just in case.
• Alldata etc was pulled up to make sure everything was correct. They had the RealOEM-looking diagrams. Everything was printed out and compared to the car.
• They took a lot of pictures of everything.
• They were curious about the throttle body heater/intake temp sensor and whether it connects to the ECU. I told them it didn’t. They weren’t able to confirm, but passed me on visual anyways.
• I’m running an M20 charcoal canister and passed visual without a problem.

I failed emissions due to high HC and NO. I plan to have my cats replaced with aftermarket CARB-legal units, possibly get a pre-test at a local smog shop, and go back to the referee. The referee did say the full inspection is required each time, but that it will be faster given that I’ve passed visual already.

Hope this helps anyone else going through this process, and fingers crossed I get my sticker soon.

[Jean]

Nice job, what cat did you use that it failed though? And thanks for confirming about pre-MAF scenario on OBD1 cars!

I've been paying attention to the MAX numbers between the years and cars, have you guys asked about this or know how these numbers are set?

For example your post above is for S50 car and the MAX NO is listed as 707/744 vs PacificExposure posted a smog report for S50 swap and it shows 695/717 ?